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The events of 9/11 were significant. Significant less for the loss of life, however tragic, more so for the powerful symbolism it represented. A Superpower had been successfully attacked on its own home soil by a then relatively obscure militant organization that targeted the economic, military and political heart of the country. It represented a turning point in international conflict, no longer the greatest threat, at least among the intellectual circles of the time, would come from other states but from non-state actors. Globalization has paved the way for an enemy that was without a territory, without a central government and without means to be defeated through conventional methods. But…

Some 821+ million people today suffer from hunger at present, this is despite the fact that globally there is a vast overproduction of food crops. Hunger today is not due to lack of food but lack of means of the poorest to access it. Trillions of dollars in aid has been poured into the least developed countries over the decades yet the average citizen of such states today is more undernourished than his predecessor in the 60s. What is more surprising that many of these countries, despite holding a natural comparative advantage in agricultural production, are net food importers. Demographic pressure, corruption, poverty is conveniently blamed for this modern crisis…

Never before in modern history has the world witnessed a rise so spectacular – a nation transforming within a few decades from a relative backwater to today the world’s second-largest economy. With a labor force of 800 million, the largest domestic market, the largest manufacturing and export industry and a still stellar annual growth rate, many commenters, from the likes of Paul Kennedy to Niall Ferguson to Jeffrey Sachs, have boldly claimed China as the next world hegemon, usurping America in the near future. However, such an assumption is misplaced. If we define power as the ability to influence as well as resist influence, a large robust economy alone does…